None of the other creatures had moved yet. Maybe, Borin thought, if they could reason with the queen, they might get out of here alive. He took a small step forward, cringing inside as the orbs swung to focus on his movement.
“Puh-perhaps there is something we could offer in exchange,” he managed. “Something we have that we could give you for the rocks?”
She cocked her head as she looked at him. “You fear uz.”
“Well, I, ah…” He gave a small shrug. “I suppose I do. A little. After all,” he added, “you are very powerful beings.” He hoped she was susceptible to flattery.
“You are wize,” she said, with a nod. Then she scanned the group. “You have powerz,” she said, pointing at him, Brin, and Delani. “More zhan ozherz. You are Loremazterz? Yez?”
Brin nodded. “Yes, we are Loremasters.”
“You offer trade.” She turned and said something to the others in the chittering, hissing Manarach tongue. Then her orbs swept across the group again. “We aczept. You,” she pointed at Borin, “you take rockz. We take rezt!”
A thread of silk snatched the sword from the nearest soldier. The queen pounced on him, and, before he could react, drove her fangs into his chest. The other Manarachs surged forward.
Brin and Delani sent blazing streaks of power toward the nearest creatures, but the blasts swerved and disappeared into the closest bag.
“The ore!” Brin shouted. “Get rid of the ore!”
One of the warriors immediately grabbed his bag off the ground and swung it in a heavy arc, sending it flying into the trees. The weight of the bag pulled him off balance. As he staggered sideways, a silken net dropped from the trees, entrapping him and pulling him into the branches overhead. His startled cry cut off almost before it started.
“Move away from the bags!” Delani cried. “We cannot user our power if they are too close!” She and Brin had drawn their swords and were swinging them at any creature that came near. A backhand swing from Delani managed to sever one of the creature’s human hands. It backed off with a hissing screech, holding its arm against its chest.
Borin could barely breathe, let alone move. He watched as trapsilk wrapped around another soldier’s ankles, snatching his feet out from under him. The creatures were on him as soon as he hit the ground. The man managed to get his sword up in time to impale the first, but could not yank it free in time to stop the next. The remaining warrior was already being wrapped in silk by two other Manarachs. Borin screamed as something grabbed his arm.
“Come on!” Delani said, dragging him along with her and Brin. “We must get away from the ore if we have any hope of escape.”
The only direction clear of the creatures was toward the silken barrier, so they ran that way, the Manarachs closing quickly. They had made a dozen paces when a line of silk landed on Brin’s sleeve, yanking him around in his tracks. He sent a streak of power toward the creature. Borin thought he might faint as he saw the blast send the Manarach flying backwards. We have our power! He began throwing bolts of dimsai as fast as he could in every direction, in his panic not caring if he hit anything or not. Several shredded the trapsilk wall that was now only a few paces away.
A sticky net entangled him, trapping his arms against his chest. He cried out as his feet left the ground, then grunted as he landed with a solid thud. Purple dimsai incinerated the net holding him. He looked up and then rolled out of the way as a large Manarach fell from the trees overhead, a smoking hole in the middle of its chest, the last vestiges of purple power dancing around the edges of the wound.
“Choose your targets, Borin!” Delani ordered, throwing blast after blast at the closest Manarachs. “We do not have time for panic.”
Her words were like ice cold water thrown in his face. He had lost control, and had wasted power that could have helped them escape. He forced his fear down and gave her a sharp nod. He would not make that mistake again.
“Even with our power,” Brin said, sending another of the creatures flying with a bolt of crimson dimsai, “we cannot defeat so many.” A thread of silk yanked his arm to the side. He burned it away with his power and then sent another blast at the owner. “Borin, you and I will hold a shield so that the creatures cannot reach us. Delani, create a portal for our escape. Hurry!”
Borin and Brin spread their arms, and a shield of red, mixed with dark grey and light grey, sprang up around them. The trapsilk hit the shield and sparked into ash. Several of the creatures had spears that they used against the shield, but the weapons could not penetrate the glittering wall of power. Within seconds, they were surrounded on three sides by the deadly creatures, with the trapsilk barrier on the fourth side. The shield flashed and sparked constantly under the relentless attack.
With the shield protecting them, Delani closed her eyes for a moment, and then stretched out her hand. Borin forced down a maniacal giggle of relief as the portal formed and he saw their campsite just outside the woods.
“Now, Borin,” Brin said, “I will hold the shield. Release your power and go through the portal.”
“Are you certain?” Borin asked.
“Yes! Now go!”
Borin dropped his part of the shield, which was immediately filled in by a wall of scarlet. The head and upper shaft of a spear fell to the ground inside their shelter as the shield sliced it in two. He turned to the portal, and then saw it vanish, along with the shield surrounding them. An instant later, one of the bags of ore landed at their feet, tossed there by the Manarach queen, who had rejoined her clan.
“You forgot zhis,” she said.
A net of trapsilk lifted Delani into the trees, while several threads wrapped around Brin, binding his arms to his side. Borin saw the fangs emerge from the Manarach standing over Brin, and then his mind went blank except for the need to get away from these hideous creatures. In a blind panic, he turned away from the hoard and ran—right into the wall of trapsilk.
“Nooo!!” he shrieked as he felt the fangs enter his back.
Appearances
Jason could tell the High One was happy to see them when they walked into the camp. As soon as he spotted them, he jumped to his feet with a wide smile.
“Jason! Loremaster Seryn! It is very good to see you,” he said. “You look well.”
“As we are,” Seryn said, with a bow of her head. “High One, I apologize for my abrupt departure. Jason and Nyala had need of me.”
“Not to worry, Loremaster Seryn. It was not your decision, after all. We thought perhaps it had been Nyala behind your disappearance, but we could not understand why she took you without telling us.”
“Yeah, that was kinda my fault,” Jason said. “Nyala had a plan to get rid of the Altered, but I wouldn’t do it without Seryn. I didn’t realize she just took Seryn without telling anyone.”
“Get rid of the Altered? Truly? And has your quest been successful? Wait,” he said as Jason started to answer. He turned to a nearby Warder. “Go find the other Loremasters and have them come to my tent immediately.” The man bowed and trotted off into the camp. Tal turned back to them. “I believe the others should hear this as well.”
“How is your head, High One?” Seryn answered.
Tal gave her a melancholy smile. “I know what the real question is, Loremaster Seryn. My head is back to normal. My power, on the other hand,” he held out his hand and winced as a spark of power appeared and then disappeared just as quickly, “remains unavailable to me.”
Seryn frowned. “This is most disturbing. While we wait for the others, may I examine you?”
“Of course.” Tal sat down again and Seryn moved behind him, the silver power blossoming on her hands.
Jason looked around the camp, but didn’t see Lenai anywhere. He wanted to ask about her, but didn’t want to interrupt while Seryn was checking the High One out. He didn’t even know if they had been able to get her away from Regor. There hadn’t been any more of Regor’s attacks, but he also hadn’t felt anything from her. Then again, he’d bee
n so busy, he hadn’t even had much time to try to see what she was feeling. Well, no time like the present.
He tried to clear his mind and focus on her. He imagined he was right beside her, and tried to feel what she was feeling, all the while continuing to look around the campsite to see if she might show up. This isn’t working. The movement in the camp was too distracting. He found a place to sit, then took a deep breath and closed his eyes. There. A faint feeling. He focused on that, willing it to grow stronger. It was a mixture of anger, fear, and an undercurrent of resignation. It felt like she was trying to fight the resignation off, but it wouldn’t go away. He opened his eyes with a soft sigh. Obviously, the rescue attempt had failed, and she was still in Regor’s hands. He couldn’t tell that for certain through the bond, but what else would evoke those emotions from her?
“I do not understand,” Seryn’s voice cut through his contemplation. “Your injury is completely healed. I do not know why you cannot use your power.”
“Well, that may be a question best asked at another time. We have much to discuss at the moment. Ah, here are the others.”
Jason opened his eyes, and then frowned in confusion. Where were the rest of the Loremasters? He only saw five of them, counting the High One. He knew Reyga was gone, but what about the other three?
“Where are the rest?” he asked.
“Loremasters Brin, Delani, and Borin are on a quest to retrieve a quantity of Blood Iron.”
“Blood Iron?”
“Yes, it is a material referred to in some papers that were in the ancient texts. According to the papers, a staff made from this material is able to absorb dimsai. We thought it might be good to have such a staff on hand considering the current situation. Now,” the High One turned to the other Loremasters, “Jason and Seryn were telling me Nyala has come up with a way to eliminate the Altered.”
“Eliminate the Altered?” Kalen asked. “Did you succeed?” The Topaz Loremaster looked like he had aged ten years since they’d first met in Lore’s Haven and he had explained to Jason how portals worked.
“Well, sort of,” Jason said. “Look, I don’t want to change the subject, but I’ve gotta ask. Did you get Lenai?”
“Of course,” the High One said. “Forgive me, Jason, I should have sent someone for her as soon as you arrived. I was so pleased to see you and Loremaster Seryn, it slipped my mind.” He motioned to a nearby Warder. “Find Lenai and bring her here, please.”
Jason felt a sense of puzzled relief. If they had rescued her, why was she feeling the emotions he’d sensed from her? Anger? Fear? It didn’t make sense. He would have to ask her about it as soon as he could get her alone.
“So, Jason. You were saying?”
“Oh, yeah.” Jason filled them in on what he, Nyala, and Seryn had done. He left out the parts about his disagreements with Nyala, and what she had done to Seryn. If Seryn wanted them to know, it was up to her to tell them. He didn’t think it was his place. Seryn remained silent, only speaking when he told them about the failure with Haras, and the subsequent successes with Ekim and Darnoc. She didn’t mention the issues with Nyala either.
“So,” Tal said, “the other Altered imprisoned Nyala, she managed to escape, and the three of you have so far dispatched three of the Altered? That is remarkable!”
“Yeah, well, we still have to take care of Regor,” Jason said. “Nyala said he was pretty strong and we’d have a fight on our hands, even with the three of us.”
“Lenai is coming.” Jason smiled as he heard the fortunewing’s voice in his head. Crin had come with them, but as soon as they came through the portal, he had flown off to find some lunch. Now he was perched in a tree overlooking the camp. “Keeping an eye on things,” he’d said.
He turned and saw her walking toward them with Gatlor beside her. As their eyes met, he saw her lips thin and her hand went to the dagger at her waist. Then she dropped her hand away from the knife and smiled at him.
“Jason! You are here!”
He went to her and put his hand on her arm. He felt her stiffen, almost pulling away, and then she smiled again and put her hand over his, pulling it from her arm and holding it in her hands.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I am well,” she said. “The Shadow Lord did not harm me.”
“Really?” The memory of her screaming in the bond argued against what she’d just said. Did she really not remember? Or were the screams just another of Regor’s tricks? He tried sensing her feelings again. This close, her emotions should be clear. He expected happiness, or at least relief, but nothing had changed from before. Still anger, fear, and resignation. Even as she stood here smiling at him and holding his hand. What was going on here?
He hadn’t used what he’d started calling his “aura vision” since the battle, but he decided to try it now. In his back and forth between Bothan and the Circle, he’d found that he could see dimsai auras if he concentrated a certain way. It had allowed him to see Shanthi spies inside Lore’s Haven, a talent they had used to relay false information to Bothan and his army. Now he focused his energy and yanked his hand away at what he saw. She was almost totally obscured behind an aura of complete blackness. All around them, the auras of the Loremasters and other saiken filled the camp with a rainbow of colors. Hers was solid black.
“Jason? What is wrong?”
He backed away. “You’re not Lenai. At least not the Lenai that I know.” He looked at Gatlor, who had stepped forward as Jason had backed away. “This isn’t Lenai!”
He saw Gatlor lunge for her, but then the shadow surged forward. Jason threw a shield up just as a shrouded arm swung at him. He saw sparks fly from the shield as the dagger glanced off.
“Where is she?” Gatlor snapped. “She has become invisible.”
“Look out!” Jason shouted at him as the shadow turned toward Gatlor. The warrior threw up an arm to protect himself as he drew his shortsword with his other hand. The dagger sliced into his raised arm, and then she ran for the forest, knocking soldiers to the ground as she ran.
“We cannot see her,” Gatlor told him.
Jason sent a stream of power at the fleeing shadow, grabbing her before she’d made thirty yards. He noticed where his power encircled her, the shadow aura recoiled. He increased the intensity of his dimsai and spread it over her entire form. The blackness shredded and faded until it was completely gone. Only the faint Shanthi aura remained. He stopped using his aura vision and saw that the mysterious Shanthi was still invisible. His power seemed to encircle thin air.
“You might as well let us see you,” he said. “’Cause I’m not letting you go.” As added encouragement, he started tightening his grip.
“Release me, human scum!” a male voice said. Then the man appeared within the loop of Jason’s power.
“Bind him!” Gatlor ordered, holding his hand over the slice in his sleeve, where Jason saw a thin stream of blood running down the leather. “Hands, feet, everything! I do not want this one escaping.” A half dozen warriors jumped to comply.
“Who are you? Where is Lenai?” the High One demanded, striding forward to stand beside Gatlor. On his other side, Seryn was already pushing Gatlor’s hand out of the way to work on his injury.
“My sister is where you will never retrieve her,” the man sneered at them. “And if you ever do see her again,” he said to Jason, “the Bond will be broken. She will no longer be enslaved to a human, nor will she ever be again.”
“Kelsu,” Gatlor grated. In answer, Kelsu spat at him. “Take him away,” Gatlor ordered, “but I want four guards around him, swords drawn at all times.” He pointed out four Warders, three men and a woman. “If he escapes,” he warned them, “you will answer to me.”
They saluted and carried Kelsu away, bound hand and foot.
Jason looked at Seryn. “This means Regor still has Lenai.”
Then he felt a distant surge of anger and collapsed as blackness enveloped him again.
*****
Regor smiled to himself. Now that he had the answers he needed, it was just a matter of how best to use his newfound knowledge. He chuckled as he imagined the look on the boy’s face as he learned what was really happening. The only question was whether he should confront them now, or just avoid them for a while and let the final surprise be that much more amusing.
On second thought, that wasn’t the only question. Another question, perhaps a better one, was how she managed to pull off this little stunt. He had severely underestimated her. He couldn’t afford to do that again. No matter what the situation, her power combined with that of the boy was enough to defeat him, perhaps even worse. He would have to be at his best when they finally faced one another again.
He thought about the three Altered they had already visited. He wouldn’t miss Haras, that was certain. She’d spent more time preening over herself in her mirrors than she had anything else. She deserved what she’d gotten, simply for her self-absorption if for nothing else. And Ekim! It was almost a shame the same thing hadn’t happened to that idiot. He liked to think himself so ingenious and creative, but he came across as a pompous know-it-all. Regor had almost finished him as he’d been babbling on about Nyala and Jason Bennett taking away his powers. Only the fact that most of Regor’s attention had been on their arrival had prevented him from blasting the little man right through a few tree trunks.
On the other hand, it was a shame about Darnoc. Regor knew the older man’s heart hadn’t been in it when he agreed to their plan, but at least he’d gone along with it and stayed out of the way. If he wanted to hide behind the flaming walls of his palace and never deal with his subjects that was his business. Just as long as he didn’t get in the way of the rest of them. But, he had to admit, he had always enjoyed their conversations. On occasion, Darnoc had even managed to give him pause and forced him to rethink some of his positions. The fact that Darnoc could do that without angering him said a lot for the man’s tact and diplomacy. At least he was still alive. But still, as an Altered, Regor couldn’t waste his time with humans, not even one that had once been his friend.
Altered Intentions Page 23